Social Butterfly
by kerfluffle
Summary: People made assumptions about Tom Riddle. But they weren't true. Everyone was wrong. This is the real Tom Riddle.


Social Butterfly

Tom Marvolo Riddle wanted to be a social butterfly.

In other words, Tom Riddle hated being alone.

Everyone thought that he was antisocial and constantly depressed and that he didn't enjoy other peoples' company. Everyone thought that because he dressed in dark colors and always stayed in the library, he was antisocial and constantly depressed, and that he didn't enjoy other peoples' company.

In truth, he was the opposite of that. Tom Riddle was very social with the children at his orphanage and had a happy and energetic personality. He loved talking to other people and really wanted friends. He loved talking to other people and really wanted friends, people he could laugh, have fun, and be himself with.

Tom Riddle wanted to have fun.

However, Tom Riddle felt that he had a family tradition to uphold. If he were to make friends with others and socialize with others, then he would be shaming his noble ancestors, especially Salazar Slytherin. His family was known for being mean,dangerous, and most importantly, antisocial. He couldn't do anything to change that.

He hated it. Every day, he had to deal with people who didn't want anything to do with him. Whenever he talked to someone, which was his favorite thing to do, they would either look away or run away, always with fear on their faces.

Fear. Of him? No one needed to fear Tom Riddle. He was the least frightening person in Hogwarts. In fact, he was no more frightening than a blade of grass. Yet people still feared him. Why? Was it the way he acted? The way he dressed? What was it about him that made people scared?

Tom continuously pondered that fact while trying to act social without seeming like he wanted to be friendly. But, after being ignored so many times, he couldn't take it anymore. So he decided to do something drastically different. Something that would change his life forever. Something to raise his social status and make him popular and have many friends. Something…like asking out Minerva McGonagall, the most popular girl at Hogwarts.

To say that it was the worst thing he'd ever done in his life would be an understatement. Now, Tom Riddle was worse off than before. Because now, he had no chance of rising in the social pyramid. People wouldn't even look at him, let alone talk to him. They all just walked away as fast as they could.

Why? Because Minerva McGonagall had cut him down. She had told him no in the meanest way possible, then proceeded to spread horrible and false rumors about Tom Riddle -- he meddled in Dark Magic, murdered countless people, and opened the Chamber of Secrets. He didn't really do that; he was framed, but no one wanted to believe him. Not after Minerva McGonagall had said that. Now, everyone was against him. And Tom Riddle, being a social kind of person, was hurt, deeply hurt. He couldn't live like this.

So Tom Riddle vowed to take his revenge on everyone who had ever looked the other way. On everyone who was mean to him, who wouldn't look at him, or talk to him. Everyone who prevented him from being the social butterfly that he wanted to be, more than anything else in the world. Everyone.

Most especially, Minerva McGonagall. He would kill everything that meant anything to her. He would take his revenge upon the world, and they would see that the day they antagonized Tom Riddle was the worst day of their miserable little lives. Because now, everyone was going to pay. Hard.

And when Tom Riddle ruled the world, he would have numerous followers, and everyone would fear him, fear to even speak his name. But when he commanded it, people would talk to him, like to a god. They would treat him with respect and awe and Tom Riddle would finally be popular, the thing he wanted the most out of everything else, not to take over the world, but to be revered and accepted.

Finally.

Thus, Tom Riddle was gone, and Lord Voldemort was born.

**Author's Note: I got the inspiration for this from my insanely good friend and beta: Universick. So, thank you! And thanks to whoever read this fanfic. There's this great thing you can do. It's called reviewing. Please please review! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the wonderful Harry Potter series or any of the content that it contains. Only the magnificent J. K. Rowling does. Ah, Harry Potter is amazing. **


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